Solar Thermal Propulsion for Small Spacecraft - Engineering System Development and Evaluation

摘要

This paper discusses results of a program to develop an innovative solar thermal propulsion system for application to orbit change and mobility for small spacecraft. In this system, solar radiation is collected by the concentrator which transfers the concentrated solar radiation to the optical waveguide cable consisting of low-loss optical fibers. The optical waveguide cable transmits the high intensity solar radiation to the thermal receiver for efficient, high performance thrust generation. Through the course of the preceding program, we have demonstrated the base for the system hardware. This paper discusses results of the program to develop and evaluate an engineering model of the solar thermal propulsion system based on the OW technology.